6/17/2008 @ 11:24PM

Buffett May Press Anheuser To Take Offer

Billionaire Warren Buffett could play a key role in InBev‘s bid for Anheuser-Busch.

According to Belgian newspaper De Standaard, Buffett, the world’s richest man, not only supports Inbev’s offer, he is scheduled to meet Anheuser Chief Executive
August Busch
IV
August Busch IV
about it.

InBev
shares rose 1.6%, or 74 cents, to close at $48.58 in New York, while Anheuser gained 1.1%, or 67 cents, to $61.20.

If Buffett, whose Berkshire-Hathaway is Aheuser’s second-largest investor with 35.3 million shares, or a 5.0% stake, publicly backs InBev’s offer, other investors in the American brewer are likely to be take heed, said one analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Anheuser-Busch
shares have never reached $65.00, which is what InBev is offering to acquire the company. The stock was trading around the $48.00 mark when Buffett first bought his stake in early 2005, and they were still trading at around that level last April, before reports about interest from InBev first emerged.

“If you are an Anheuser shareholder, the offer looks pretty attractive,” said Paul Hofman, an analyst with Cheuvreux. “Buffett is a shareholder and he wants the best price for the shares. His backing of the bid seems logical.”

Buffett may be interested in a cash offer or even a share swap. While Anheuser’s shares have been stagnant since the billionaire’s investment in 2005, InvBev’s have nearly doubled. And Buffett has recently been scouring Europe for good investments in order to diversify himself out of dollar assets. (See: “Buffett Going Shopping In Europe”)

Last week Anheuser-Busch, which was apparently seeking to avoid the embrace of Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev, got the cold shoulder from Mexican brewer
Grupo Modelo
. Just as Anheuser would prefer to remain American, Modelo said it wanted to stay Mexican, though it did not rule out the idea of being bought. (See: “Modelo Frosty To Anheuser-Busch“)

A deal between InBev and Anheuser would constitute the biggest ever takeover of an alcoholic beverages company and create the world’s largest brewer, headquartered in Belgium. InBev itself is the result of an earlier brewing mega-merger, the 2004 amalgamation of Belgium’s Interbrew and the Brazi’s Ambev. Its brands include Stella Artois and Beck’s.

InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday to promote the takeover. He told reporters the $65 per share offer was the highest the company would bid.

Some analysts have said InBev would have to raise the offer closer to $70 in order to secure the deal.

When asked whether InBev has reached out to Buffett or Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, Brito said, “Right now we’re trying to engage with [the Anheuser-Busch] board; that’s the top of the agenda.”

Brito has said he hoped for a friendly deal with Anheuser, and would keep the company in St. Louis, Mo. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who serves on the Senate Commerce Committee, did not have a friendly reaction.

McCaskill, who served Budweiser beer to attendees of the discussion, said afterward, “I was very up front I explained to them that I would do everything I could to stop this sale from going through.”

The senator said she was concerned the takeover could threaten pensions of Anheuser employees and “good middle-class jobs” the brewer has provided in her state.